362 DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST 



a ghost, " There are more things in heaven and earth, 

 Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy," are 

 gravely quoted as though they were applicable to the 

 Horatios of to-day. We have no reason to suppose 

 that there are more things in heaven and earth than are 

 dreamed of in our philosophy. Those who inappro- 

 priately quote this saying as though it were proverbial 

 wisdom are usually persons of very small knowledge, 

 and mistake their own limitations for those of mankind 

 in general. 



The real and effective answer to all such head- 

 shakings and airs of mystery is to demand that the 

 reputed marvel shall be brought before us for examina- 

 tion. The method of the disciples of the founders of 

 the Royal Society is not to deny or to assert possibilities. 

 They hold it to be futile to discuss why such and 

 such a thing should not exist, and still worse to conclude 

 that it does exist, or to hold its existence to be prob- 

 able, because you cannot say why it should not exist. 

 The real question is, " Does it exist ? Is it so ? " And 

 the only way of dealing with that question is to have 

 the marvel brought before you and subjected to examina- 

 tion and test. " Nullius in verba ! " The mere state- 

 ment of dozens of witnesses merely gives you as a 

 thing to explain or account for, not the marvel reported, 

 but the fact that certain persons say or are reported to 

 say that it does. What you have to examine, in the 

 absence of the marvel itself, is, " How is it that these 

 people make this statement ? " You must inquire into 

 the capacities and opportunities of the witnesses. There 

 are several possible and probable answers to that inquiry. 

 For instance, it may be that the witnesses are merely 

 inaccurate, or are self- deceived, or deceived by the 

 trickery or credulity of others, or are insane, or are 



